I've only been in the UK for a short time now-- 4 months-- and while I've seen many advertisements for language school jobs at very low wages, I've also seen quite a few ESOL jobs that are salaried, pay well, and have a lot of holiday. Now I've tried to ask the people I work with, in the EFL programme at an FE college, about ESOL and noone has any information. Most of them look at me, scratch their chins and say "Oh ESOL, yes there are some jobs doing that."

What information I have been able to get out of anyone is little and contradictory. I've heard you need an additional qualification, but then I've also heard that you don't. I've also heard that ESOL programmes tend to look down on EFL, and only want to hire those with ESOL experience. In the States, the line between EFL and ESL is so fine that many of us step accross it without even thinking about it. Here though, there seems to be something more, or is there?

In the early 1990s, when I last worked in this area, ESOL was taught to immigrants and was small group or sometimes even one-to-one teaching. The target language was specific to the needs of the group and some ESOL teachers had non-EFL qualifications. I think there was a City& Guilds qualification. At that time there were very few permanent jobs in ESOL and those were usually in areas with high immigrant populations. No doubt availability of work in this sector of language teaching is very dependent on the political climate.

I haven't had me dinner and blood sugar is low, but when I'm feeling livelier I will try to elucidate. I do a bit of both and the distinction between EFL and ESOL sometimes eludes me. As I am hopefully going for an (ESOL) interview next week I'd better clarify my thoughts and hone up on some of the jargon.

If I were to be cynical (and at my age I often am) I'd probably say that the main difference in the two is the paperwork and since ESOL is govt. funded it is accordingly far worse. You may end up having to use syllabus codes like 'Rt/E3.7a, 8a' which are all laid down in a national ESOL 'Skills for Life' syllabus, aqnd somehow prove that the students are learning something which can be difficult.

EFL students tend to be better educated and with more academic ambitions, but this is not invariably the case. In one college I work at the higher level ESOL sts were split away from the EFL classes, which caused a great deal of resentment and probably negative learning outcomes for those students.

At another college I teach ESOL where the sts have been in the UK for various periods; some of them 8,10,20 even 30 years. The level of language is (ahem) surprising, but there seems to be little exposure to the language outside the class for some of them. That includes those with English speaking spouses and children. The motivation for coming to class seems social, and progress often seems very slow.

As ever, all students and classes vary. There is EFL work in the FE sector, and if you can get this it pays pretty much the same as the ESOL work and better than the private language schools.

Funding for students is the main difference.
ESOL get free courses, EFL pay for them.
ESOL tend to be less exposed to a formal education. EFL students tend to be seeking to improve theirs.
As a teacher there is the paperwork side and the need to justify the use and accountability of every minute in the learning process by notating in triplicate the entire procedure of the specific minute and taking more time than is reasonably profitable to perform this task for the benefit of the funding number crunchers in your college, department or school. All this 'extra work' as it is called in the trade detracts from the 'real work' which is teaching.
We live in an accountability culture. Forget the fact that the students tell you they like learning with you, ignore the personal satisfaction you gain from seeing them progress, forget they have lives and personalities you need to work around in your teaching.
Can you fill the forms in please?

In my post I concentrated more on the teaching side - I am a fairly inexperienced teacher still thinking about my students(!) - and until these last few months the funding issue (and paperwork requirements) hadn't really impinged on me.

Some ESOL students are educated with academic aims and going for exams, and separating them in a teaching sense often doesn't make sense. At least the paperwork is easier as there is a definite learning goal. For some of the others I can see progress but how to fill in the paperwork is another matter.

Agreed Sue,
ESOL students are changing. There is a new European looming in the ESOL field too.
We have the EFL financial refugees, who wish to study English but want to take advantage of the funding and free classes of ESOL this creates a two-tier class of educated and non-educated in L1 students. The differentiation is completely chaotic, based on college placement tests, and we all know how effective they are! Our classes are no longer teachable at one level. We are expected to be constantly observing the needs of specific indiividuals in our classroom. What happened to teaching one class, one subject, at one level ? I seem to be doing five jobs badly instead of one job well.

It's a glorious morning and it looks like we are both at our PCs - sad eh? Not prepping for next week by any chance? At least I've got my Italian evening class prep out the way. I've also got to consider my job interview for next week with a 10 minute micro teaching session to prepare - which means I can't let my normal discursive, reactive style take over!

Thanks for the information, as well as the link. As for the paperwork, my FE makes us do a lot of paperwork for our EFL students. Let me give you an indication and maybe you could tell me how ESOL stacks up, because one man's mound of paperwork is another's cakewalk.
Here it goes:

Lesson plans for each lesson, complete with aims, assessment for each task, and opportunities for differentiation--(buzzword!), and photocopies of supplementary material.

Schemes of work for the whole term including aims, assessment and differentiation in more of an overview.

Class profiles, with descriptions of each student including learning styles and strengths and weaknesses in skill areas.

Tutorial sheets that require the signature of the student detailing at areas of concern for both the student and instructor, and a plan of action.

Homework scores recorded with a separate area for photo copies of actual work.

and daily registers for attendance.

There are often other pieces of bureaucratic scrap that pop up occasionally.
Looking back over the list I realize that it could be a lot worse. It does help me assess my students much better. And while at times it is annoying, like on Fridays when I just want the weekend to begin and I have to spend a half an hour scribbling, I do think it has it's purpose.

So what's ESOL like? The same or worse?

Please don't feel that you have to respond too quickly. Save the energy in those fingers for paperwork you'll get paid for.